Archive for the “Tools” Category

Homemade Wiggle Wire Tool

I’ve noticed that quite a few people use a “wiggle wire” to cut their freshly thrown mugs off of the pottery wheel head which gives the bottom textural interest and also negates the need to trim a foot.  I’ve wanted to try one for quite awhile and decided to attempt making a homemade one myself after I came up empty handed at my local ceramic supplier.  I could order the Bill Van Gilder Wiggle Wire Tool online, but then I remembered that Emily writes a lot of tool reviews and “how to’s” so I went in search of a wiggle tool on her site.  Lo and behold, I hit pay dirt!

I looked around my studio which also happens to be the woodworking/tool shop and gathered many of the tools and supplies I thought I might need to make one.  The following images show how I made my wiggle wire tool - click on an image to enlarge.

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Emily has a great list of resources of where to find wire to make a custom cut off wire tool on her blog.  While making mine, I improvised and ended up using a fairly thick 19 gauge wire I had lying around the garage which makes it very sturdy - but after a quick web search, also found coiled springs at automotive shops online, hardware stores and other non-pottery general purpose shops.  I tried using some thinner beading wire, but it was too fine and didn’t hold its shape.  I also vaguely remember reading a tutorial in a clay magazine that suggested using piano wire - but since a piano shop is not on my regular route, I decided to skip this outlet.

Meanwhile, I did a little housekeeping yesterday - not actually cleaning my home, but rather straightening up all the files on my computer including documents, desktop, programs, email addresses, photos etc.  I feel so much better now and can actually find what I’m looking for easily which should help me be more productive.  I made & organized folders and deleted old files, duplicates, and addresses I don’t recognize and then did a complete maintenance clean up of my system.

This coming week, I have Monday - Friday, 9am - 3pm to work in the studio while my daughter is in school and I’m looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.  I need to make work for 2 local Colorado galleries, and the Colorado Potters Guild Fall Sale is fast approaching - not to mention the holidays.  I know I’ve written about Wholesalecrafts.com before, and this weekend I made the decision to drop this sales outlet.  I took a hard look at my schedule & priorities and realize that at this point in my life, I just don’t have the time to devote to adding more obligations on top of everything else.   It’s too much stress and that’s no way to live.

As my daughter grows older, needs me less, and eventually leaves home, I know there will be plenty of time to build a full time career out of clay.  In the meantime, I’ll nurture my part time foray into clay and my patch work quilt of a life making ceramic work, being a mom, teaching, subbing and volunteering.  Geez, in the past 2.75 years of blogging, I’ve learned so much about myself, my limitations, my inspiration and where I want to go and what I want to accomplish.  It’s been a weird, exhilarating and humbling ride.

Have a great week,

~Cynthia

Coming soon to my website: glaze recipes, gallery images, how to’s!

I’ve rolled out a slab of “ash” white stoneware clay purchased from Mile Hi Ceramics.  I’m going to give my new lino cut a try.

I found that I get a better print when I used a rubber mallet to set my lino-cut in place - otherwise it slipped a little when I ran the rolling pin over it several times from different directions.

After I printed the clay and before I lifted the lino-cut, I trimmed away the excess clay from the slab.  I cut my linoleum pretty precisely before I carved it.

Voila, my print - see the bottom center?  this is before I realized that I should use the rubber mallet to get a good print.

Here, I’ve got 4 sides of my poppy lino-cut printed and a large slab for the top and bottom.  If you do your math, you’ll see that i actually printed 5 sides, even though I only meant to do 4.  I turned the fifth one into a tile.

This could be why I printed out 5 sides instead of 4.  :D  It was after 8 pm after all.

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago.  About a month ago, I ordered a Bevel-o-Matic tool from claystamps.com after reading a tool review on Emily Murphy’s Pottery blog.  After 2 weeks, I didn’t receive an acknowledgment or the tool in the mail.  I had used the Paypal link on their website to purchase, so I followed up with an email and canceled the transaction.  About a week after that, I received an email from them apologizing and telling me that they’ll put one in the mail for me and that I should send them a check after receiving it.  I wasn’t quite sure I’d see one or not, but lo and behold, a Bevel-o-Matic tool arrived a week later.  It seemed so refreshing to me that the owner would trust me enough to send before receiving payment.  So, I am definitely one happy customer and promptly stuck a check in the mail.  By the way, it works like a charm!

I worked on 2 boxes simulataneously.  These are larger than the porcelain ones I’ve made in the past couple of months.

Here, I am dutifully adding clay coils to the joints to strengthen them.  I tried not adding them to a couple and experienced some cracking.  The glaze covered the cracks up, but I was worried the whole time while they were firing.

Walls are up - only have to add the tops.

Vine printed box is now drying and setting up.

Here’s the poppy printed box.  I think I like the way this print turned out.  I suppose the real test will be after glazing.  I’d like to see the glaze break nicely over the raised and recessed parts of the boxes.

Meanwhile, I am attending a one day hand-building workshop with Annie Chrietzberg tomorrow.  I hope to report back on Monday with all the wonderful things I learned at her studio!

Have a good weekend,

~Cynthia

Several weeks ago, I visited the Clay Stamps website and tried to purchase a bevel-o-matic clay tool via their Paypal Buy Now Link. I didn’t receive a confirmation or shipping info after committing to purchase. A week later, an email appeared in my inbox from Paypal informing me that Clay Stamps has not claimed my payment and that I should contact them or cancel my purchase. After emailing and receiving no response, I reluctantly canceled my order. I always like to give someone the benefit of the doubt - they could have been on vacation or something. I was going to follow up with a phone call to the number listed on the website, but after telling my Father in Law the story and showing him a photo of a handmade bevel tool in a recent article in Pottery Making Illustated (go to the link on bottom right, titled “Beyond the Square”), he responded, “I can make you one!”

He made me 2! What a great Mother’s Day present and perfect timing. The Summer Art Market is looming in about 5 weeks, and I want to do some more hand-building since my little porcelain boxes sold out at the Guild Show last weekend.

Meanwhile, I’ve been shopping! I need to stop, but I keep finding great independent artists whose work I adore. Friday, I visited the Castle Clay artist’s show and purchased an Asian inspired salt fired mug by Don Cox. Yesterday, I went to a mead & sushi tasting event that featured work by local artists and purchased some steam-punk pins by “The Pork Shop Show” and a reproduction print mounted on a 1″ gallery wood support by Two Little Fruits.

Both the mead and the sushi were delicious! The mead was home brew - and I’ve decided I need to make some for us after I research recipes - finally I’d be able to use the Grolsch bottles with the little ceramic swing top stoppers that my husband has been collecting over the years and won’t let go of. The lemon variety tasted a bit like Limoncello, and I love lemons. The sushi chef likes to do home parties, and I asked him if he would be adverse to doing a kid’s party. I don’t know if you remember, but, my 10 year old daughter loves herself some sushi. She always wants to go out to the most expensive sushi restaurant in town for her birthday every year. It would be cool to learn how to make it ourselves!

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

~Cynthia